7 Kitchen Must-Haves for Anyone Who Loves to Cook

7 Kitchen Must-Haves for Anyone Who Loves to Cook

Do you love to cook? No matter if you’re a new cook or expert chef, mixing spices and making your home smell delicious drives your passion.

You take pride in cooking and deserve the best kitchen to make your best dishes. Too often, you waste time fretting over missing cookware and lacking counter space for prep work. Take the pressure off yourself with the right gadgets, cookware, and decorations. Here are seven kitchen must-haves for anyone who loves to cook.

1. Dutch Oven

Big pots save many big holiday gatherings from catastrophe and feed just enough people. A Dutch oven is multipurpose and allows you to brown meat, cook rice, boil pasta, boil or steam vegetables and even bake certain breads.

2. Meat Thermometer

Is it done, or does it look done?

Determining the difference is important to your health when it comes to cooking meat. When you’re in a rush, you may lose track of how long your meats have cooked or should cook. A meat thermometer is necessary for all levels of experience in the kitchen. You’ll have better peace of mind once you know for sure you cooked that turkey to the recommended 165 degrees Fahrenheit or higher. Many meat thermometers are now digital and allow you to monitor your meat remotely.

3. Flexible Cutting Board

The best cutting board allows you to prevent a bacterial infection from spreading and protect your knife blades. How do you decide on the right cutting board? Use glass, wood or plastic to your preference. Polypropylene cutting boards are highly durable and odor-resistant, and you should look for the high-density type of polypropylene plastic. The most helpful type allows you to use both sides, is non-slip and has a groove to prevent spills and catch liquids.

Flexible cutting boards make carrying and lifting easier, and choosing multiple colors prevents cross-contamination if you color code which board you use to cut meat versus vegetables on. Some boards will fit right over your kitchen sink to catch spills.

4. Kitchen Island

The kitchen island serves as the center of cooking activity, providing extra space for meal prep and storage. Customization of kitchen islands through hand-made craft maximize these benefits, such as adding additional shelving and butcher blocks. Customized kitchen islands blend in with existing decorations, or let you create a unique focal point in your kitchen when you design your own.

5. Dry Ingredient Containers

Containers that hold dry ingredients on the countertop or in the pantry add a down-home feel while maintaining a chic and modern kitchen. Many containers come in themes to match your kitchen’s style, such as barnyard animals for a country kitchen or glass jars for a more classic look. Glass containers (a farmhouse decor staple) also let you see through to the ingredients inside.

Your containers might hold flour, sugar, and coffee. It’s easier to take a pinch of this or a scoop of that.

6. Magnetic Spice Rack

Spices like to hide in the dark depths of cabinets, and rotating spice racks make all the spices look the same. Install a magnetic strip close to your prep area, and glue magnets to the back of spice containers. Start with your most used spices if room is limited, and place those on the magnetic strip.

You can also use this idea for other cookware, like knives, but be safe!

7. Hanging Pot Rack

Stop driving yourself crazy looking for renegade pots and pans. Take the ones you use the most often and hang them for easier access. Install a hanging pot rack near your stove or over your kitchen island. Use recycled palette wood or hardwood of your choice to make a square hanger, or add a wooden strip with hooks along the wall. Hanging pots create more cooking space, too.

From a Dutch oven to a hanging pot rack, use these seven kitchen must-haves to optimize your time in the kitchen. Your Dutch oven allows you to bake lasagna after boiling the noodles in the same pot. Your digital meat thermometer remotely lets you check the temperature of the meat you’re cooking. Your flexible cooking board and customized kitchen island give you more prep space. The dry ingredient containers, magnetic spice rack and hanging pot rack put your most frequently used items right at hand.

Your kitchen is perfect when you find a pinch of what you need in the nick of time when guests invite themselves over. Your kitchen is perfect when you can spend more time on doing what you love most — cooking.

What’s your kitchen must-have?

Author:

Kacey Bradley is the lifestyle and travel blogger for The Drifter Collective, an eclectic lifestyle blog that expresses various forms of style through the influence of culture and the world around us. Kacey graduated with a degree in Communications while working for a lifestyle magazine. She has been able to fully embrace herself with the knowledge of nature, the power of exploring other locations and cultures, all while portraying her love for the world around her through her visually pleasing, culturally embracing and inspiring posts. Along with writing for her blog, she frequently writes for sites like US Travel News, Thought Catalog, Style Me Pretty, Tripping.com and more!